Dispensing container



y 1933- F. P. SWALLOW DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed July 20. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l fincf b fla (01/ may y 1933- F. P. SWALLOW 9,

Filed July 20. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M727 0r): mom i jvailon containers of the. flat cup-dispensing Patented July 2 5, 1933 emu:"ST

runners P. SWALLOW, or .WORCESTER; MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES ENVELOPE COMPANY, OIEHSPRINGFIELD, MASSAGHUSETTS A conronn'rrow or- Application filed new,

paper cups of the open-mouth type which are adapted to be withdrawn singly from a container jwli en requiredfor use, and particularly to an adapter fordispensing con tainers'by whichfcontainers used for dispensing fiat packed cups may he arranged for dispensing open-mouthed cups.

. The replacement of that drinking cups, which require opening theuser before they can be filled, forthe more economical and sanitary drinking cups of the type di sclosed in the Dickerson reissue Patent 17,- 553,1135' heretofore inecessitated' the provision of an entirely new dispensing container fort-he new type of cups, since open-mouthed cups are not adaptable for "dispensing from ype for example, the type of container disclosed in Patent No} 1,333,045 granted to Swift on March 9, 1920, this container being intended for dispensing flat stacked cups The substitution of a container of the open-mouthedcup dispensing type, which is usually of'a different shape from the container of the flat cup dispensing typeyleav'esan unsightly appearance on the surface to which the con tainers are secured; and in certain cases wherethe container is'mounted in a recess in the-wall or' surfaee, thesuhstitu ted container does not. fit inrthe' samerecess in which the original 'co'ntai'ner'was mounted and accordingly cannot be used. 1

According to the present invention an adapter including a dispensing passage and dispensing slot, of a construction to permit dispensing of open-mouthed nested cups, is

formed as, a unit and is arranged to be sub stituted for the dispensing opening of a container for dispensing fiat-cups ofithe'ftype shown in the above cited Swift patent. In

this manner; containers for dispensing fiat cups may be readily adapted to the dispens 'ing of open-mouthed nestedarticles without changing the position or the outward appearance'of said container.

llhecontainer with the adapter therein isarranged to present a small portionof theouter cup of thestack in a position-for CONTAINER) 1 192i, serial mi 551,893}

' delivery throi'igh' the dispensing slot, thereby tope'rmit withdrawal of said outermost cup from the container without permitting the} users hands to c'o'me in contact with, the inner'side of said; cup or "with any "ofthe other cups in the stack. erably is; arranged tofinaintain a cup al ways in only a limited movementof thestackwithin the container whereby a portion of the out ermost cup is always presented through the dispensing slot. 'Thevabov e and other advantageou's features of the invention will more fully appear "from the following descrip tien', reference being'hadto the accompanying drawings in which 1 Fig; 1 is a front elevational View of a container embodying the invention;

Fig." 2 is a side elevational view of the container shown in Fig.1." o

Fig. 3 is" a vertical sectiona'lf'view' along the line"3' 3 ofFig. 1 lookingin the di bi:

tion of the arrows.

4 is an inverted view of the Fig. 5 1s a horizontal sectional view along lower end of the container.

the line'5f5 of vFig. 3lookingin the direction ofthe arrowsl 7' l i Fig-.. 6 isla perspective view. of the adapter ot the invention, removed fromthe' conta1ner. c V Fig 7 is a View corresponding to Fig. showing the container before the insertion of the adapter. i

Fig. 8 is a perspective View ofa paper cup of the open-mouth type, which the corn tainer is adapted to dispense. v I Like referencefcharacters refer; to like parts throughout the drawings 7 v Thecontainer comprises an elongzuiedsuh-v 'stantially rectangular body '1 closed on all pensingfslot 2 01? a peculiar shape is provided. -As shown in Fig; 3, the body' l is The adapter pref a Position f eliy by p rmi ting 'sidesle'xc ept atits lower; end wherea disarranged to enclose a-stack'ofn'ested cups 3 withthe wedge shaped end portions-4 of the lowermost cup the stack depending down v wardly through the slot 2wso that the por- L tion 4 may readily grasped by 'theuser .IQG

when it is desired to withdraw cup from the container. 7 v

Referring to Fig. 8, a single cup 3 is shown of the type best adapted fordispensing from the container of the invention, although other similar articles may also be handled. The cup provides an open self- -distended mouth, elliptical or substantially I circular in form, with a downwardly tapering body terminating in a wedge-shaped end portion 4 providing, adjacent the lower end, substantially flat sides so that the cup may be readily grasped by the portion projecting through the dispensing slot 2, as best shown ii -Fig. 3. The cups 3 are preferablyformed of paper possessing 'the requisite stiffness vides an enclosing shell 5, bent or pressed to form a rear wall'G, side walls 7, and inturned front flanges 8 as shown -1I1 Fig. 3.

At their lower ends the' sidewalls 7 have forwarde'ddisposed extensions 10 and said side walls 7 have their lower edges 11 inclined downwardly from' the extension 10 towardthe rear as shownin Figs. 2 and 3.

'Therear wall 6 provides screw holes 12 to permit attachment of the cabinet to a supporting surface 13; The inturned front flanges 8 support a transverse vertical plate 14"which constitutes an extension of said flanges 8 adjacent the-extensions 10' provided by the side walls 7 The plate 14 is bent outwardly at 15 near its lower endto lie substantially normal to the'lower edges 11 of the side walls 7 and is provided at its lower end with an upwardly turned tongue 16 to provide a central bearing or support for the inner ends of pins 17 which extend inwardly through openings in the extensions 10 of the sidewalls .7. *Similar pins 18 extending inwardly from the lower ends of side walls and are supported at their inner end by a head or bearing 20 formed from the material at the lower end of the rear wall.

In the construction of Fig.7 which shows the lower portion. of the cabinet fwith the construction therein for dispensing flat cups, thepins 17 and 18 provide pivotal supports for hinged loors 21, these ,doors having beads or bearings 22 surrounding the respective pins 17 and, 18 on opposite sides of the bearings 16 and 20. The doors are. normally held yieldingly against stops 23,

moval of a cup from within the container and thereafter spring inwardly to close the discharge opening and support'the cupsin the stack. An opening 24 is provided between the adjacent free edges of the doors to permit the'user to grasp the lowermost cup for withdrawal thereof. I V- The upper edge of the plate 14 is overturned. as" at 25 to receive and support a concave plate .26, the latter extending transversely of the container to close the outside of the receptacle, forming a continuation of the'flangesS and following-the contour of the upper edges of the extensions 10. The front edges of the extensions are joined by a substantially vertical plate 27 whose lower edge is inturned as at 28 to close the s ace between the lower ends of plates 14 an 27, said inturned portion terminating adjacent the outward bend" 15 ofplate 14. At its upper edge adjacent its inter-section with the curved plate 26, the plate 27 provides a pair of beads 29 for the support of a shaft 30 on whichis journaled a swingingv front closure 31 for the container,said fronthaving integral beads 32 along its lower edge'to provide a hinged connection with said shaft 30. The front is curved inwardly and thereafter rises substantially vertically to coincide with the front edges of the side Walls" 7 when in closed position, the

upper. end of said front being turned rearwardly and horizontally to provide a doeure for the top of the cabinet; the sides of the front and top are flanged as at 33 to overlieithe side walls 7. The front'closurecarries a spring latch 34 engaging with a transverse v plate 35 which connects the flanges 8 adjacent the top edges, said latch being arranged to hold said front closure in closed position, an outwardly extending end 36 being provided, on said springlatch in order to release said latch when it is desired to open the container "as for refilling.

When it is desired to dispense, from the above described cabinet" construction, 0 en'- mouthed wedge-shaped cups instead 0 the flat type of cupsythe hinged doors 21 are removed by withdrawal of the pins 17 and 18 "and the substitution'therefor of a dispensing slot andpassage shown in perspective in Fig. 6 and operative relation within the container in Figs. 1-' to 5.

Referring particularly to Fig. 6, a substantially rectangular plate 37 is provided along the longitudinal edges adjacent oppo site corners with beads or bearings 38 through which the pins 17 and '18 are adapted to extend when the adapter is placed within the container as shown in Fig.3,

the plate 37 being of the size to substantially fill the lower end of the container between: the'beads l6 and 20,the beads 38 then being in alinement with :the beads 16 and 20. The :plateis provided with an elongated slot 4O', adjacentone edge'thereof, of generally narrow .elliptical'form .with openuends as shownimost clearlyv in Fig.4.

The oppositelongitudinal edges of theislot are provided with upstanding walls 41'and '42 which extend 5 obliquely t-oithe plane of the plateinidiverging relation, so that when the adapter is .lwithin' the container, the walls will extend upwardly, hejwall 41 extendingtoward the rear wall of the container and the wall 42 extending towardlthe front wall; The walls 41 and .42diverge to form asubstantially wedge-shaped dis pensing passage i corresponding: in contour tothe shape of the cup, saidpassage having open ends corresponding to and leadmg doiwnto the open ends 40 of the dispensing slot 40; The walls 41: and 4Q-adjacent the upper end of the dispensing passage are 'ing' extension 43' in substantially parallel relation to the rear wall of the container.'

Said extension is provided with a pair of offset portions 44 and 45 forming down wardly extending prongs which are-adapt ed, during the dispensing of cups :fromthe container, to engage with a portion of'the open mouth ofone of the cups within the containerto limit the movement- 0f the lower portion of the stack of cups inwardly of the container. The plate 37 is provided with an upwardly depressed portion 46 directly in back-of the slot 40 to provide a greater grasping area for the rear surface of the cup without causing the cup to project a greater distance beyond the slot.

It will be apparent that a dispensing construction such as shown in Fig. 7 may be readily converted into the construction of Fig. 3 by the removal of the pins 17 and 18 and the substitution for said dispensing member of the dispensing slot and passage shown in Fig. 6, the latter being maintained in position, within the container, by reinsertion of the pins 17 and 18, the rectangular plate member of said adapter forming a lower wall for the container. It is found desirable in certain arrangements to remove the stops which held'the swinging doors inposition, in order to permit the adapter to be mounted in the position desired.

When the adapter of Fig. 6 ismounted within the container, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5,. the-container is. closed at. the *bottom;:rby the rectangular plate 37g which extendsppara allel to the lowerpedges 11' of and between the'side walls, the slot 40 being adjacentithe front. ofthecontainer, Figs. 3 and4, the rear wall 41' of the dispensing passage extending upwardly; from the edge of the slot toward the rear wall, {at/ a substantial angle tothe rear. wall, the extension 43 'extending upwardly in parallel relation to said rear wall with the prongs directed-toward the :dispensingslotp The front wall 42 ofthe dispensing passage extends substantially verticallyup: wardly into engagement with the front wall of the container. The configuration of the walls of the dispensing passageis suchthat the normal center line ofthe passage extends at an anglegto theoenter line of the stackof cups within thefcontainer, and the projects .ingportion of the" stack is thus presented forwardlyanddownwardly." The projecting I portion isthusjr'eadily grasped by the user forremoval .of a cup, especially when the container is mounted within'arecess in the wall. The upper ends of the dispensing pas. sage walls flare outwardly substantially into engagement withithe-walls of the container whereby cups inserted through the top of the container are directed into the wedge V shaped dispensingpassage, and-cannot be caught within thecontainer.-

Since the cups are directed forwardly at an angle to the center llDQOf the stack,'the

cups' tend to separate from each other -adja-. 'centthere'ar of the container where the di rection of the stackis changed, that is, adj a-' cent the upper end of the dispensing'passage as shown in, Fig.3; By locating the prongs at this point of separation, it willbe seen that theprongs may readily engage the open mouths of successive cups, as the outermost cups are withdrawn fromthe stack. It

will be noted that thecups substantiallyvfill the space between the front wall and the prongs, so that the cups cannot tip forward- 'ly outofengagement with said prong. The

prongs are arranged to permit a substantial vertical movement of the stack within the container to permit a single cup to be freely withdrawn at one time, although the prongs act to prevent an excessive movement of said stack, T r I claim,

' 1. An adapter pensing container, the latter being normally arranged to receive and support a stack'of.

for attachment to a disnormally flat cups, said adapter providing,

when attached to said container, for the dispensing of nested openzmouthed wedgeshaped article's, said adapter. comprising a; lower end. wall member having means at opposite edges to permit attachment of said member to said container, said member having an elongated slot therein and walls extending from the edges of said slot in diverging. relation to form a substantially wedge-shaped passage.

2. An adapter; for attachment to a dis pensing container, the latter being normally arranged to receive and'support a stack of normally fiat cups, said adapter when secured to said container providing for the support in and dispensingfrom'saidcon tainer' of a stack of nested open-mouthed wedge-shaped articles, said adapter comprising a substantially rectangular member havinga slot longitudinally therein, walls extending from opposite edges of said slot obliquely to'said member and in diverging relation, said Walls providing a'substantially wedge-shaped passage t0..said slot between said walls, and means-on said adapter to permit securement of said adapter to said container. l 1 1 V 3. An adapter forattachment to a dis pen'sing container, the latter being normally arranged to receiveand support a stack of normally flat cups,- said adapterzwhen secured to said container providing for the, support in and dispensing zfrom ,said container of a stack of nested open-mouthed wedge-shaped articles, said adapter comprising a substantially rectangular member having a slot longitudinally therein, walls extending from opposite edges of said slot obliquely to said member and in diverging relation, said walls providing a'substantially wedge-shaped passage to said slot between said walls,'- said walls flaring outwardly at the end remote from the, slot whereby the.

outer edges of said walls define substantially arectan'gler .v

4. An adapter for attachment to a dispensing container, the latter being normally arranged to receiveand support a stack of normally flat cups and having. a removable end, said adapterwhen secured to said con-o tamer-providing forthe support in and dis;

pensing from said container of astack of nested open-mouthed wedge-shaped articles, said adapter comprisinga. lower end wall forming member adapted to, form theend of said container and having means along 0P1 posite edges by which to secure said member tocsaid container, said member having an elongated slot therein, walls extending upwardly from saidslot and in diverging relation to provide asubstantially wedgeshaped dispensing passage,'the upper edges of said walls corresponding substantially in contour to the cross-section ofthe container.

5. A dispensinglcontainer adapted to receive and-support a stack of :nested open-1 mouthed wedge-shaped articles. substantially centrally therein, said container comprising front,-side andrear walls, a forwardlyand upwardly sloping lower .end wall? having a slot therein through which a portion of said stack is adapted to eXtend,said slot being located forwardly of the vertical center line of said containerandforwardly of the center line of the stack of articles therein, said container having a dispensing passage therein extending upwardly and rearwardly from said slot for directing the articles in the stack toward and through said slot, said passage'alsocxtending at an angle to the vertical center line of the container and the center line of the stack of cups therein, and means Within the 3 container and adjacent the 'reai wall thereof for limiting the upward movement of the stack within the container, said dispensing passage, by its vangular relation to the center line of the stack, procuring separation between successive are ticles adjacent said means, whereby said means engages the 'open mouth of one of 

